With respect to a device for locking/unlocking a vehicle door without using a key, a device including a remote is known. For example, a sensor is provided in the vehicle door, the sensor recognizes human body approaching the vehicle. Further, communication between the remote and the vehicle is performed, the vehicle door is unlocked when an outside handle of the vehicle door is operated by human body equipped with a remote having an identification code corresponding to the vehicle. The vehicle door is locked by a switch provided on the vehicle door.
For example, a known human body detecting device is disclosed in a Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10(1998)-308149. In the device, space is formed inside a resinous outside handle of a vehicle door, and parallel cables for detecting variation of capacitance are disposed in the space. Variation of capacitance between the parallel cables and variation of capacitance between one of the parallel cables and ground can be detected. Therefore, human body approaching the outside handle can be distinguished from human body contacting the outside handle by one sensor.
According to the above described known work, the human body approaching the outside handle can be distinguished from the human body contacting the outside handle. However, it is difficult to determine whether the human body intends to open the vehicle door or the human body intends to walk away from the vehicle door after closing the vehicle door.
Although multiple sensors or switches may be provided in order to detect whether the vehicle door is looked or unlocked, the cost increases and the vehicle doorway be accidentally unlocked.
The present invention therefore seeks to provide a human body detecting device and door locking device capable of distinguishing human body intending to open a vehicle door from the human body intending to close the vehicle door by one sensor and of locking/unlocking the vehicle door.